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After a narrow seven-point win over NC State, Syracuse returns to the Carrier Dome and hosts Louisville on Saturday, the first and only meeting between the two teams this season. The Orange narrowly beat NC State on Wednesday, while the Cardinals dropped their previous game, 90-83, against North Carolina in overtime.

Malik Williams, Louisville’s leading scorer at 10.0 points per game and the only Cardinal averaging double-digits, missed the game against the Tar Heels due to a suspension for not meeting program standards. Still, Louisville managed to score its most points in a game since recording 86 in a Dec. 14 win against Southeastern Louisiana.

Here’s what The Daily Orange’s beat writers think will happen when SU hosts the Cardinals.

Andrew Crane (15-8)
Playing the right cards
Syracuse 74, Louisville 63

The Orange could be starting their annual late-season roll here, one that seemed far-fetched just eight days ago when they lost to Pittsburgh. With two straight wins, though, SU should be able to pick up a win against a Louisville team that’s dealing with the aftermath of parting ways with a coach, suspending a leading coach and losing seven of the last eight games. Given the Cardinals’ lack of scoring, I think this is a game where Syracuse’s offense — led by Buddy Boeheim, Cole Swider, Jesse Edwards, or some combination of the above — can help it pull away in the second half and cruise.

This should be the easiest stretch of conference play for Syracuse, with opponents like Boston College and Georgia Tech ahead, and a balanced performance against the Cardinals will help the Orange churn out another win while they try to save their season.

Roshan Fernandez (13-10)
Crushing Cardinals
Syracuse 82, Louisville 73

Louisville is a program in turmoil, but that hasn’t necessarily stopped it from performing on the court. The Cardinals parted ways with their head coach, Chris Mack, last week and named assistant coach Mike Pegues to the interim head coach role. They handed a one-game suspension to Williams – their top-scorer and rebounder – for failing to meet the program’s standards (The Courier-Journal reported that Williams was given multiple opportunities to improve his attitude and did not). And still, Louisville managed to take UNC to overtime. It still sits at 11-11 overall and has won five conference games. The Cardinals have a top-100 ranked defense, per KenPom.

But all of that being said, Syracuse has played well at home. It has lost just two home conference games — against Virginia and Florida State — and played likely its best performance of the year when Wake Forest visited central New York last weekend. I’ll take the Orange’s offense to outpace Louisville’s and do enough to scrape out the win.

Gaurav Shetty (13-10)
Three in a row?
Syracuse 81 Louisville 72

Louisville is currently in a massive downward spiral as the Cardinals are 1-7 in their last eight games. The Cardinals come to Syracuse at a great time for the Orange, who are coming off of a surprise victory over Wake Forest and a win over NC State. Louisville is ranked even lower than the Wolfpack and are clearly in the midst of a crisis. I predicted Syracuse to win four of its next five, albeit with a victory over Pittsburgh and a loss to Wake Forest, but I will stick with that pick for this one. This is an enticing stretch of games for the Orange, one that I think will net them their first three-game win streak of the season.

Published on February 2, 2022 at 11:29 pm